“The cost of love is grief.” I am not sure where I heard this quote, but it has stayed with me for years. I am well-versed in grief—both personally and professionally—so I suspect I heard it from Alan Wolfelt, David Kessler or some other grief expert I study behind hoping to glean kernels of wisdom […]
Do you need a laugh? I always do! I read a meme a few months ago that said “2021 is just 2020 with a wig on!” I laughed out loud when I read this and still smile thinking of it. Without talking about any viruses (wink, wink) I think we can all say that we […]
Coping skills, calming strategies, calming techniques, therapists have used many terms over the years to describe how we manage stress. “Coping skills” is the term I heard most in grad school; however, one of my favorite mentors often uses the phrase “calming strategies”… and I have grown to like it.
About 15 years ago I read a fascinating article outlining how clinicians were doing research showing that people who experienced trauma were more likely to have physical problems/illness. Since reading that article so many years ago, the field of counseling has exploded with research illustrating how trauma impacts not only our emotional health, but our […]
In last month’s blog, I talked about PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as C-PTSD or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While PTSD may occur after a single traumatic event, C-PTSD usually happens after an individual has experienced multiple traumas. To better understand the difference between PTSD and C-PTSD you may want to go back […]
If you have experienced PTSD, you know it is real. People with PTSD often have nightmares and flashbacks. They worry something bad will happen to them. They may see the world as a scary place and avoid reminders of their trauma–reminders we call “triggers.”
Depending on your age, different images may come to mind when you hear “PTSD” or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. When I hear “PTSD” I immediately think of Vietnam Veterans. There are two main reasons for this. The most recent reason is that for a few years at the beginning of my career I had the privilege […]
Years ago, I had the privilege of going into homes to provide support and therapy. I will spare you the specifics of the populations I served and the challenges I helped people face. However, there are some lessons from that career season that have stuck with me and been brought back to my mind since […]
At the end of 2020 I started listening to a podcast by a female therapist in another part of the country. In one of these episodes towards the end of last year she was talking about anxiety in general, but then made a specific prediction about how and why anxiety would be on the rise […]
Having done a decent amount of grief work during my years practicing, I have had the honor of sitting with others experiencing grief due to the loss of a loved one by suicide. Grief work is always difficult, but the suddenness of suicide brings an added layer of challenge to the healing process.
